Digital content modification for content protection

ABSTRACT

An end user system comprises a communication interface configured to receive content in a protected state and transfer the content in the protected state, a processing system coupled to the communication interface and configured to receive the content in the protected state, process the content with a key hard coded internally to the processing system to modify the content to an unprotected state, and transfer the content in the unprotected state, and a user interface coupled to the processing system and configured to receive the content in the unprotected state and output the content.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

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FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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MICROFICHE APPENDIX

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention is related to the field of digital content protection, andin particular, digital content modification using a key hard codedinternally to an end user system to protect digital content.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Content providers and end users alike have become increasingly concernedwith the issue of digital content protection and digital rightsmanagement. In the prior art, software and hardware based encryptionmethods have been implemented in end user systems to protect digitalcontent and manage digital rights. Examples of end user systems include,for example, personal computers, mobile computing and communicationdevices, music and video devices, mobile phones, personal digitalassistants, as well as other types of end user systems.

One way in which content providers desire to manage digital content isto limit content to particular devices or end user systems.Problematically, most prior art digital content protection technologieslack the ability to link digital content to particular end user systems.For instance, many prior art cryptographic processes use software basedkeys to decrypt encrypted content. Due to the ease with which softwarebased keys are distributed, encrypted content can be downloaded anddecrypted to any number of devices, regardless of the concerns of acontent provider.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above problems and other problems are solved by providing an enduser system having an internally hard coded key. In this manner, aremote modification process initially places digital content in aprotected state. The content is then transferred to an end user systemand returned to an unprotected and useful state using anothermodification process and the hard coded key. By hard coding the keyinternally to an end user system, content is physically linked to theparticular end system that contains a key capable of returning thecontent from a protected state to an unprotected state.

In an embodiment of the invention, an end user system comprises acommunication interface configured to receive content in a protectedstate and transfer the content in the protected state, a processingsystem coupled to the communication interface and configured to receivethe content in the protected state, process the content with a key hardcoded internally to the processing system to modify the content to anunprotected state, and transfer the content in the unprotected state,and a user interface coupled to the processing system and configured toreceive the content in the unprotected state and output the content.

In an embodiment of the invention, the communication interface receivesthe content from a content provider system wherein the content providersystem compresses the content, modifies the content to a protected stateafter compressing the content, and transfers the content in theprotected state to the communication interface.

In an embodiment of the invention, the processing system processes thecontent with the key to modify the content from the protected state tothe unprotected state and decompresses the content after modifying thecontent from the protected state to the unprotected state.

In an embodiment of the invention, the communication interface receivesthe content from a content provider system wherein the content providersystem modifies the content to the protected state, compresses thecontent after modifying the content to the protected state, andtransfers the content in the protected state to the communicationinterface.

In an embodiment of the invention, the processing system decompressesthe content and modifies the content from the protected state to theunprotected state after decompressing the content.

In an embodiment of the invention, the processing system comprises acompression module configured to decompress the content and a digital toanalog conversion system (DAC) configured to modify the content from theprotected state to the unprotected state and convert the content from adigital form to an analog form.

In an embodiment of the invention, the protected state comprises anencrypted state and wherein the unprotected state comprises anunencrypted state.

In an embodiment of the invention, a method of operating an end usersystem comprises receiving content in a protected state into acommunication interface, transferring the content from the communicationinterface to a processing system, in the processing system processingthe content with a key hard coded internally to the processing system tomodify the content to an unprotected state, transferring the content inthe unprotected state to a user interface, and providing the content toan output.

In an embodiment of the invention, a software product for operating anend user system comprises software operational when executed by aprocessing system to direct the processing system to receive content ina protected state from a communication interface, process the contentwith a key hard coded internally to the processing system to modify thecontent to an unprotected state, and transfer the content in theunprotected state to a user interface for output, and a storage mediumconfigured to store the software.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The same reference number represents the same element on all drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an end user system in an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of an end user system in an embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a communication system in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 illustrates the operation of a communication system in anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a communication system in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of a communication system in anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a communication system in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 8 illustrates the operation of a communication system in anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates a communication system in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 10 illustrates the operation of a communication system in anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a communication system in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 12 illustrates the operation of a communication system in anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates a communication system in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 14 illustrates the operation of a communication system in anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 15 illustrates a communication system in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 16 illustrates the operation of a communication system in anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates a communication system in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 18 illustrates the operation of a communication system in anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 19 illustrates an end user system in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 20 illustrates an end user system in an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1-20 and the following description depict specific examples toteach those skilled in the art how to make and use the best mode of theinvention. For the purpose of teaching inventive principles, someconventional aspects have been simplified or omitted. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate variations from these examples that fall withinthe scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the features described below can be combined in various ways toform multiple variations of the invention. As a result, the invention isnot limited to the specific examples described below, but only by theclaims and their equivalents.

FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of an end user system 100in an embodiment. End user system 100 could comprise a system orcollection of systems. For example, end user system 100 could comprise adevice, such as a mobile phone, personal computer, video player, audioplayer, or personal digital assistant, as well as other types ofdevices. End user system 100 could also comprise multiple devicesnetworked devices, such as a video or audio player coupled with apersonal computer. Other examples of multiple networked devices arepossible.

In this embodiment, end user system 100 includes communication interfaceprocess 101, content process 102, and user interface process 103.Communication interface process 101 is linked to content process 102.Content process 102 is linked to user interface process 103.Communication interface process 101 could be any process capable ofinterfacing communications between content process 102 and externalentities, such as a remote content source. Content process 102 could beany process capable of interfacing with communication interfacingprocess 101 and user interface process 103. In addition, content process102 could be any process capable of modifying digital content. Digitalcontent could comprise any type of content provided in a digital form.For example, digital content could comprise video, audio, text, orgraphics content, as well as other types of digital content. Userinterface process 103 could be any process capable of interfacing withcontent process 102, as well as with external entities, such as a user.

FIG. 2 illustrates the operation of end user system 100 in an embodimentof the invention. To begin, communication interface process 101 receivesdigital content in a protected state (Step 201). The content could bereceived from, for example, a remote source. Next, communicationinterface process 101 transfers the content in the protected state tocontent process 102 (Step 202). Content process 102 processes thecontent with an internally hard coded key to modify the content from theprotected state to an unprotected state (Step 203). In the protectedstate, the content could be encrypted, encoded, or both. In thedecrypted state, the content could be decrypted, decoded, or both. Uponmodifying the content, the content is transferred in its unprotectedstate to user interface process 103 (Step 204). User interface process103 provides the content in a useful form, such as an audio or videoform, to a user.

It should also be understood that, in an embodiment, end user system 100could include a discrimination process capable of determining whether ornot content requires modification from a protected state to anunprotected state. For example, some types of content could arrive in anunprotected state. In such a case, the modification process could bebypassed. In another example, it could be unknown whether or not thecontent is in a protected or unprotected state. In such a case, thediscrimination process could proceed with a check process to determinethe state of the content. Depending upon the result of the checkprocess, the content could be either passed to a modification process orthe modification process could be bypassed. In one example, the contentstate could be indicated by a flag imbedded in the content. In anotherexample, the content state could be derived from the source of thecontent. For instance, some content providers could be assumed by thecheck process to always transmit content in a protected state, whileother content providers could be assumed to always transmit content inan unprotected state. In another example, the content state could beindicated by a control message transmitted to end user system 100 alongwith the content.

FIG. 3 illustrates communication system 300 in an embodiment. In thisembodiment, communication system 300 includes content provider system110 in communication with end user system 100. Content provider system110 could communicate with end user system 100 over a network, as iswell known in the art. Content provider system 110 could be anycomputing system capable of preparing and providing content to end usersystem 100. For example, content provider system 110 could be a webserver, a content server, or a combination of both, as well as othertypes of well known content provider systems. Content provider system110 includes preparation process 112 and communication interface process111. Preparation process 112 could be any process capable of preparingdigital content for transfer by communication interface process 111 toend user system 100. Communication interface process 111 could be anyprocess capable of interfacing between preparation process 112 andcommunication interface process 101.

FIG. 4 illustrates the operation of communication system 300 in anembodiment. To begin, preparation process 112 prepares digital contentfor transfer to end user system 100 (Step 401). For example, preparationprocess 112 could process the content to place the content in aprotected state. Next, communication interface process 111 transfers thecontent in a protected state to end user system 100 (Step 402).Communication interface process 101 receives the content in theprotected state (Step 403) and transfers the content to content process102. Content process 102 processes the content using the internally hardcoded key to modify the content from the protected state to anunprotected state (Step 404). Upon modifying the content, contentprocess 102 transfers the content in the unprotected state to userinterface process 103 (Step 405). User interface process 103 providesthe content in a useful form to a user.

In one embodiment, content process 102 could be the last process tooperate on the digital content prior to the content being converted froma digital form to an analog form suitable for output to a user. Forexample, upon being modified by content process 102, the content couldbe transferred on a digital data bus to user interface process 103. Userinterface process 103 could convert the digital data in its unprotectedstate to an analog form for output to a user. It should also beunderstood that the modification process executed within content process102 could be performed within user interface process 103. As part of theconversion process from digital to analog form, user interface process103 could modify the digital content from a protected state to anunprotected state.

It should also be understood that other intermediate processes couldoccur between communication interface process 101 and content process102. For example, a storage process could store the content on a localstorage device, such as a hard drive or flash memory device. In oneexample, the content could be stored in its protected state and laterretrieved from storage and processed by the other intermediate processesprior to content process 102.

Advantageously, end user system 100 links digital content to aparticular end system by providing a content process 102 that modifiesprotected content to an unprotected state utilizing an internally hardcoded key. In this manner, content can be protected remotely,transferred to end user system 100, and processed using the key tomodify the content to an unprotected and useful state for output by userinterface process 103.

FIG. 5 illustrates communication system 500 in an embodiment.Communication system 500 includes end user system 100 and contentprovider system 110. In this embodiment, content process 102 includesmodification process 104 and compression process 105. In addition,preparation process includes compression process 115 and modificationprocess 114. Compression process 115 could be any process capable ofcompression digital content, such as an audio or video compressionprocess. Compression process 105 could be any process capable ofdecompression digital content. Compression/decompression processes arewell known in the art. Modification process 114 could be any processcapable of modifying content to a protected state from an unprotectedstate. It should be understood that modification process 114 could beincorporated with compression process 115. Modification process 104could be any process capable of modifying protected content to anunprotected state. Modification processes 104 and 114 could be, forexample, cryptographic processes. Modification process 104 could use aninternally hard coded key as a cryptographic key or seed. It should beunderstood that compression process 104 could be incorporated withcompression process 105.

FIG. 6 illustrates the operation of communication system 500 in anembodiment if the invention. To begin, compression process 115 withinpreparation process 112 compresses digital content and passes thecompressed content to modification process 114 (Step 601). Modificationprocess 114 processes the compressed content to place the content in aprotected state (Step 602). For example, modification process 114 couldencrypt the compressed content. Modification process 114 passes theprotected and compressed content to communication interface process 111and, in turn, communication interface process 111 transfers the contentto communication interface process 101 (Step 603). Communicationinterface process 101 transfers the protected and compressed content tomodification process 104. Modification process 104 processes the contentwith the key to modify the content to an unprotected state (Step 604).At this point, the content remains in a compressed form. Next,compression process 105 decompresses the content and passes theunprotected content to user interface process 103 (Step 605).

It should be understood that modification processes 114 and 104 couldcomprise any type of process capable of modifying content to a protectedstate and reverse-modifying the content to an unprotected state. In oneexample, modification process 114 could comprise an exclusive-or (XOR)process. In such an example, the content is XORed with a key to producethe modified and protected content. Furthermore, modification process104 could also comprise an exclusive-or (XOR) process. In such a case,the protected content is XORed with the internally hard coded key toreturn the content to its original unprotected state. Other modificationprocesses are possible.

FIG. 7 illustrates communication system 700 in an embodiment. In thisembodiment, communication system 700 includes end user system 100 andcontent provider system 112. In a departure from FIG. 5, the order ofcompression process 105 and modification process 104 is reversed. Inaddition, the order of modification process 114 and compression process115 is reversed.

FIG. 8 illustrates the operation of communication system 700 in anembodiment if the invention. To begin, modification process 114processes digital content to place the content in a protected state(Step 801). For example, modification process 114 could encrypt thecontent. Next, compression process 115 compresses the protected content(Step 802). The content is then passed to communication interfaceprocess 111 and, in turn, communication interface process 111 transfersthe content to communication interface process 101 (Step 803).Communication interface process 101 transfers the protected andcompressed content to compression process 105. Compression process 105decompresses the protected content (Step 804) and passes the content tomodification process 104. Modification process 104 processes thedecompressed content with the key to modify the content to anunprotected state (Step 805). Lastly, the content is passed in itsunprotected state to user interface process 103 (Step 806).

FIG. 9 illustrates communication system 900 in an embodiment.Communication system 900 includes end user system 100 and contentprovider system 110. In this embodiment, content process 102 includescompression process 105. In a departure, user interface process 103includes modification process 104.

FIG. 10 illustrates the operation of communication system 900 in anembodiment. To begin, modification process 114 processes digital contentto place the content in a protected state (Step 1001). For example,modification process 114 could encrypt the content. Next, compressionprocess 115 compresses the protected content (Step 1002). The content isthen passed to communication interface process 111 and, in turn,communication interface process 111 transfers the content tocommunication interface process 101 (Step 1003). Communication interfaceprocess 101 transfers the protected and compressed content tocompression process 105 within content process 102. Compression process105 decompresses the protected content (Step 1004) and passes thecontent to user interface process 103 (Step 1005). Within user interfaceprocess 103, modification process 104 processes the decompressed contentwith the key to modify the content from its protected state to anunprotected state (Step 1006). For example, modification process 114could decrypt the content. Lastly, the content is output to a user.

FIG. 11 illustrates communication system 1100 in an embodiment of theinvention. In this embodiment, user interface process 101 includes adigital-analog conversion (DAC) process 106 and an output process 107.Further in this embodiment, DAC process 106 includes modificationprocess 104. DAC process 106 could be any process capable of convertingdigital content to an analog form. Output process 107 could be anyprocess capable of outputting content in an analog form.

FIG. 12 illustrates the operation of communication system 1100 in anembodiment of the invention. Modification process 114 processes digitalcontent to place the content in a protected state (Step 1201). Forexample, modification process 114 could encrypt the content. Next,compression process 115 compresses the protected content (Step 1202).The content is then passed to communication interface process 111 and,in turn, communication interface process 111 transfers the content tocommunication interface process 101 (Step 1203). Communication interfaceprocess 101 transfers the protected and compressed content tocompression process 105 within content process 102. Compression process105 decompresses the protected content (Step 1204) and passes thecontent to user interface process 103 (Step 1205). Within user interfaceprocess 103, the content is passed to DAC process 106 to convert thedecompressed digital content to an analog form. Within DAC process 106,modification process 104 processes the content with the key to modifythe content from its protected state to an unprotected state (Step1206). For example, modification process 114 could decrypt the content.In this example, the key could be an internally hard coded key. However,it should be understood that the key need not be an internally hardcoded key. DAC process 106 converts the unprotected digital content toan analog form (Step 1207) and passes the analog content to outputprocess 107. Output process 107 outputs the content to a user.

FIG. 13 illustrates communication system 1300 in an embodiment of theinvention. In a departure from communication system 1100, contentprocess 102 includes compression process 105, DAC process 106, andmodification process 104. User interface process includes output process107.

FIG. 14 illustrates the operation of communication system 1300 in anembodiment of the invention. To begin, modification process 114processes digital content to place the content in a protected state(Step 1401). For example, modification process 114 could encrypt thecontent. Next, compression process 115 compresses the protected content(Step 1402). The content is then passed to communication interfaceprocess 111 and, in turn, communication interface process 111 transfersthe content to communication interface process 101 (Step 1403).Communication interface process 101 transfers the protected andcompressed content to compression process 105 within content process102. Compression process 105 decompresses the protected content (Step1404) and passes the content to DAC process 106 to convert thedecompressed digital content to an analog form. Within DAC process 106,modification process 104 processes the content with the key to modifythe content from its protected state to an unprotected state (Step1405). For example, modification process 114 could decrypt the content.In this example, the key could be an internally hard coded key. However,it should be understood that the key need not be an internally hardcoded key. DAC process 106 converts the unprotected digital content toan analog form (Step 1406) and passes the analog content to userinterface process 103 (Step 1407). Output process 107 outputs thecontent to a user.

FIG. 15 illustrates communication system 1500 in an embodiment.Communication system 1500 includes end user system 100 and contentprovider system 110. End user system 100 includes key 91. In thisembodiment, key 91 is internally hard coded to end system 100. End usersystem 100 is in communication with content provider system 110.

FIG. 16 illustrates the operation of communication system 1500 in anembodiment. In this embodiment, end user system 100 transmits a contentrequest to content provider system 110 (Step 1601). The content requestcould indicate, for example, specific content, such as a song, a video,a file, or the like. Content provider system 110 transfers the contentin a protected state to end user system 100 (Step 1602) in response tothe content request. In one example, the content could be encrypted. Enduser system 100 receives the content in its protected state (Step 1603).End user system 100 processes the content along with key 91 to modifythe content from the protected state to an unprotected state. In oneexample, end user system 100 could decrypt the content with key 91.

FIG. 17 illustrates communication system 1700 in an embodiment of theinvention. In this embodiment, communication system 1700 includes enduser system 100, content provider system 110, and key registry 120. Enduser system 100 includes key 91 and identifier 92. Similar to key 91,identifier 92 could be hard coded internally to end user system 100. Key91 could be one half of an asymmetric key pair, such as the private keyof a private and public key pair, or one key of a symmetric key pair, aswell as any other type of cryptographic key. Key registry 120 couldcomprise a database system configured to store device identifiers inassociation with public keys.

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of communicationsystem 1700 in an embodiment. In this embodiment, end user system 100transfers a content request to content provider system 110. The contentrequest could indicate specific content and identifier 92. It should beunderstood that the content request could be transferred by end usersystem 100. However, it should also be understood that the contentrequest could be placed manually by a user using a different deviceother than end user system 100. For example, an end user could place arequest to content provider system 110 over the phone, through the mail,or from an entirely different system than end user system 100. In such acase, identifier 92 could be known to the user and could be provided tocontent provider system 110 manually by the user.

Upon receiving the content request, content provider system 110responsively transmits a query to key registry 120 indicating identifier92. In this example, it is assumed that key 91 is one half of anasymmetric key pair, although it should be understood thatnon-asymmetric keys could be used. In response to the query, keyregistry 120 returns the public key associated with identifier 92.Content provider system 110 modifies the requested content from anunprotected state to a protected state using the public key. Forexample, content provider system 110 encrypts the content using thepublic key. Content provider system 110 then transfers the protectedcontent to end user system 100. End user system 100 receives the contentand processes the content using key 91 to modify the content from itsprotected state to an unprotected state. In an example, key 91 is theassociated private key of the public key provided by key registry 120.

FIG. 19 illustrates end user system 200 in an example of the invention.End user system 200 could represent end user system 100. End user system200 includes communication interface 201, processing system 202, anduser interface 203. Processing system 202 includes storage system 204.Storage system 204 stores software 205. Processing system 202 is linkedto communication interface 201 and user interface 203. End user system200 could be comprised of a programmed general-purpose computer,although those skilled in the art will appreciate that programmable orspecial purpose circuitry and equipment may be used. End system 200 mayuse a client server architecture where operations are distributed amonga server system and client devices that together comprise elements201-205. End user system 200 could comprise a combination of networkeddevices.

Communication interface 201 could comprise an Ethernet interface card,IP port, or some other communication device. Communication interface 201may be distributed among multiple communication devices. Processingsystem 202 could comprise a computer microprocessor, logic circuit, orsome other processing device. Processing system 202 may be distributedamong multiple processing devices. User interface 203 could comprise akeyboard, mouse, voice recognition interface, microphone and speakers,graphical display, touch screen, or some other type of user device.Storage system 204 could comprise a disk, tape, integrated circuit,server, or some other memory device. Storage system 204 may bedistributed among multiple memory devices.

Processing system 202 retrieves and executes software 205 from storagesystem 204. Software 205 may comprise an operating system, utilities,drivers, networking software, and other software typically loaded onto ageneral-purpose computer. Software 205 could comprise an applicationprogram, firmware, or some other form of machine-readable processinginstructions. When executed by processing system 202, software 205directs processing system 202 to operate as described above for end usersystem 100, and in particular, for communication interface process 101,content process 102, and user interface process 103.

FIG. 20 further illustrates end user system 200 in an embodiment. Inthis embodiment, end user system 200 includes key 91 internally hardcoded to processing system 202. Key 91 could be, for example, depositedon an integrated circuit of processing system 202 during the integratedcircuit manufacturing process. In such a case, multiple integratedcircuit masks could have unique keys recorded on the masks for laterimplementation on multiple integrated circuit, each circuit having onekey respectively. Key 91 could comprise a binary code in the form ofelectrical inputs, such as voltage, current, resistance, or capacitanceinputs. Other types of inputs are possible, such as pins or fuses. Inanother example, key 91 could be implemented as programmable read-onlymemory (PROM) or as erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM).Other types of internally hard coded keys are possible.

As illustrated by the embodiments discussed above, digital contentprotection is improved by providing an end user system having aninternally hard coded key. In this manner, a remote modification processinitially places digital content in a protected state. The content isthen transferred to an end user system and returned to an unprotectedand useful state using another modification process and the hard codedkey. By hard coding the key internally to an end user system, content isphysically restricted to the particular end system that contains a keycapable of returning the content from a protected state to anunprotected and useful state.

1. An end user system comprising: a communication interface configuredto receive content in a compressed protected state and transfer thecontent in the compressed protected state, wherein the communicationinterface receives the content in the compressed protected state from acontent provider system, wherein the content provider system modifiesthe content in an unprotected digital state to a protected state,compresses the content in the protected state to a compressed protectedstate, and transfers the content in the compressed protected state tothe communication interface; a processing system coupled to thecommunication interface and configured to receive the content in thecompressed protected state, and transfer the content in a decompressedprotected state, wherein the processing system comprises a compressionmodule configured to decompress the content to the decompressedprotected state; and a user interface coupled to the processing systemand configured to receive the content in the decompressed protectedstate, and output the content to a user in an analog form, wherein theuser interface comprises a digital to analog conversion (DAC) processconfigured to process the content in the decompressed protected statewith a key hard coded internally to the user interface to modify thecontent to the unprotected digital state, and convert the content in theunprotected digital state to the analog form.
 2. The end user system ofclaim 1 wherein the protected state comprises an encrypted state andwherein the unprotected digital state comprises an unencrypted state. 3.A method of operating an end user system, the method comprising:receiving content in a compressed protected state into a communicationinterface, wherein the communication interface receives the content inthe compressed protected state from a content provider system, whereinthe content provider system modifies the content in an unprotecteddigital state to a protected state, compresses the content in theprotected state to a compressed protected state, and transfers thecontent in the compressed protected state to the communicationinterface; transferring the content from the communication interface toa processing system, wherein the processing system comprises acompression module; in the compression module, decompressing the contentin the compressed protected state to a decompressed protected state;transferring the content in the uncompressed protected state to a userinterface, wherein the user interface comprises a digital to analogconversion (DAC) process; in the DAC process, processing the content inthe decompressed protected state with a key hard coded internally to theuser interface to modify the content to the unprotected digital state,and converting the content from the unprotected digital state to ananalog form; and providing the content to a user in the analog form. 4.The method of claim 3 wherein the protected state comprises an encryptedstate and wherein the unprotected digital state comprises an unencryptedstate.